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Furtney Meat Processing Plant
The Furtney Meat Processing Plant is a pre-war factory located near the ruins of Austin, Minnesota. Once the location for the manufacturing of a number of meat products, most notably CRAM, the factory survived the war and has been occupied by a number of different groups over time. History Pre-War The first version of the factory on the site was built in 1921 to produce a variety of Furtney’s processed meat products. The launch of CRAM in 1937 saw a major expansion of the factory as it became the primary producer of the product. By the end of World War II, the factory was running at full tilt to continue to supply demand for the product, and was the biggest single employer in Austin. As Furtney’s range of products grew, the factory continued to expand, adding more lines and facilities. By the end of the 20th century, the factory was a looming behemoth, towering over the landscape around it. Its lines were producing all manner of products besides CRAM, including sausages, salamis, steaks, ribs, tinned stew, potted meat, minced meat, patties, poultry, leather, hides, peanut butter, desserts, protein supplements, pet food and fertilizer. Furtney’s business grew into the 21st century as it became a preferred supplier of meat products to the US military, with CRAM a common sight in ration packs. Resource shortages in the lead up to the great war significantly impacted operations. The disruption of supply routes resulted in shortages of raw materials, leading the plant’s management to find ‘creative’ ways of making up shortfalls. Even then, in the months leading up to the Great War, the production continued to decline. In early October 2077, National Guard troops were assigned to Furtney in order to protect the supply of ‘valuable war material’ coming from its facilities. Great War and Aftermath The Furtney factory was undamaged during the great war, but that situation was not to last. Within days of the bombs falling, the factory was besieged by armies of desperate people from across the state who were trying to gain access to the food supplies stored inside. The national guard forces, themselves leaderless and cut off form supplies, tried to maintain control of the situation, but instead found themselves outnumbered and overwhelmed. A short but bloody battle broke out, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides and leaving the factory itself largely abandoned. The building stood derelict for several decades, but was not uninhabited. A variety of creatures would find their way into the plant, such as Radroaches, Radrats, and Molerats, eventually making it their home. Feral Ghouls would also be drawn to the plant, preying on the smaller animals found inside. While these creatures should have proven to be a deterrence, tales of the factory and its massive supplies of pre-war food (that was sealed, preserved and presumably still edible) would draw the desperate, curious and profit-seeking to the plant. While lone explorers and scavengers usually would meet with grisly fates at the hands of the local wildlife, sometimes some of the larger groups would stake a claim and attempt to explore the factory. Those that did persist often found themselves beset upon by all manner of hazards, and not just from the wildlife. Over the years of its operation and constant growth, the factory had become a titanic, twisting maze of machinery dedicated to a broad range of products. Now only sporadically lit and suffering from decades of neglect and decay, the inside was a nightmarish mass of equipment and hazards, filled with ways to maim the unsuspecting explorer. Many of those groups who tried to stake a claim would either be driven off or slowly wiped out by the hazards within. Sometimes, a group would find itself beset upon by rivals who sought to claim the supposed wealth within. The result was cycles of habitation and abandonment, where a group would move in, set up shop and, one way or another be wiped out. The factory would then remain idle until the next group would move in. At present, the factory is home to the Bloody Butchers raider gang, who moved in during the winter of 2285. After several failed attempts at exploration, the Bloody Butchers chose to fortify a part of the factory to claim as their base of operations, and from there, raid nearby communities. Description Machinery At its peak, the Furtney factory had dozens of production lines for all manner of different products, making it one of the biggest meat processing plants in the world. The building’s exterior structure is largely intact, but inside is another matter. Time and neglect has seen machinery rust, walkways and conveyers collapse, interior walls crumble and so on. The result is that the interior of the factory is now a nightmarish maze of metal and equipment. Adding to this, parts of the factory are still powered, albeit sporadically. This means that sometimes the machinery will spontaneously start, usually without warning. Given that much of it is in a poor state of repair and that the connections between different devices have often collapsed, this means that such random starts can often be very hazardous to anyone in or around them. Over the last two centuries, the machinery has claimed more than a few lives. Some of the many different machines inside the plant include: * Meat Separator * De-Beakenator * Flenser * Mincer * Pulper * Canner * Picnic Boner * Weiner Batchmaster * Ham Press * Meat Pumps * Tenderiser * Sausage Stuffer * Mixer Safe Zones Several areas of the plant have been cleared out and inhabited at different stages. Usually these consist of whatever parts of the factory floor can be secured and then bordered off with makeshift barricades. Often these become more fortifications than anything else with those inside being constantly pressed upon by the hostile creatures within the plant. The current inhabitants, the Bloody Butchers, claimed a large section of the sausage factory (including the hanging wiener vault where the wieners were drained of discharge) as their base of operations. While much of this area is filled with machinery, it also includes a few offices that they have set up camp in. Administrative offices This annex to the main building was home to the administrative staff during the plant’s operations. While nominally the safest part of the facility, it has also suffered structural damage over time leaving it open to the elements and thus unsuitable for habitation. Most anything of any value was taken long ago. Hide Cellar The deepest part of the factory, the Hide Cellar is a somewhat terrifying mystery to those that have inhabited it over time. Originally built to house animal skins while they were treated and processed, assignment to the Hide Cellar was often used as punishment detail for underperforming or problematic employees. Since the war, the Hide Cellar has remained inhabited, but by who or what remains unclear. Anyone who has entered the Hide Cellar has never returned. Rail yard and carpark Outside the factory is a rail yard that was originally used both for the delivery of raw meat and the distribution of finished products. It is now overgrown, filled with the rusting wrecks of railcars and other rolling stock. These grounds have since become havens for a number of different creatures and are dangerous to venture through alone. The factory also had extensive car parks for employees and deliveries. Today these are filled with the wrecks of vehicles that were abandoned on-site or destroyed during the riots. The hulks of several abandoned military vehicles are parked at key points around the factory, the remnants of the original national guard blockade. These vehicles are all inoperable, and well past repair. Inhabitants Humans The Furtney plant has been home to numerous groups over time who have come seeking fortunes in salvage or the rumoured meat stockpile inside. Others have taken shelter in the plant, unaware of just how dangerous it actually was and what they were getting themselves into. Either way, those groups inside often find themselves falling victim to its many hazards and either fleeing or being wiped out. As of 2287, the plant’s safe areas are occupied by the Bloody Butchers, a raider gang who had been travelling through the Minnesota region. Drawn to the plant by the same rumours, they are determined to stick it out despite the location’s grisly history. A part of this determination comes from their own name; a group calling themselves the butchers taking over a meat processing plant seems to be a case of manifest destiny. The leader of the Bloody Butchers is Gabe. Dwelling at the highest point of their safe zone, he has turned the Weiner Batchmaster office into his own private fortress. Ghouls Numerous feral ghouls inhabit the ruins and are probably the single greatest (natural) threat to its human inhabitants. Many are the remnants of prior attempts to penetrate the plant’s secrets, while others may be wanderers who simply shambled into the plant over the centuries. Furtney’s ghouls live in the crawlspaces of the plant and will aggressively defend their territories against any intruders. They are also prone to falling into the machinery when it activates; parts of desiccated, shredded, flensed or sliced ghoul are a not uncommon sight. Other creatures Numerous other creatures live inside the ruin, mostly the mutated descendants of various vermin that were present during its operational years. These include Radroaches, Radrats, Morerats and other such creatures. While only nominal threats, combined with the other hazards of the factory, these creatures can result in sudden, horrible deaths. Like the ghouls, they are also prone to falling into machinery and being processed. Legends suggest that there is some unknown mutant creature dwelling in the Hide Cellar. Robots The Furtney plant was equipped with a number of Protectrons for various purposes such as construction, maintenance, fire-fighting, loading, security and so on. A number of these are still functional, and reside in their booths throughout the factory. On occasion, the same power spikes that see the machinery reactivate also will activate one of the robots, creating yet more hazards for those inside. Category:Places